Tremlett burst seals crushing win

Surrey 620 for 7 beat Northamptonshire 240 and 205 by an innings and 175 runs
Scorecard

A burst of three wickets in nine balls from Chris Tremlett saw Surrey wrap up victory by an innings and 175 runs against Northamptonshire at The Oval.

Northamptonshire had been 96 without loss following on but they dramatically collapsed to 205 all out.

The visitors, dismissed before lunch for 240 and forced to follow-on still trailing by 380, were making a better fist of things second time around until Andre Nel, limping with a suspected thigh strain, provided the inspiration for Surrey.

Openers Stephen Peters (50) and Ben Howgego (45) had posted 96 in 35 overs before Surrey's three-pronged pace attack of Tremlett, Nel and Stuart Meaker took a grip on the game by bagging four wickets in 16 balls without addition to the total.

Nel got one to lift off a length to have Peters caught in the gully then, from the very next ball, Tremlett went around the wicket to see Howgego, pushing hesitantly, edge onto his own off stump.

Three balls later David Sales fenced at a Tremlett lifter to edge low to Nel at slip and, in his next over, the 6ft 7in strike bowler saw Rob White chop onto the base of off stump.

The collapse continued after tea when Meaker got in on the act with 4 for 59 during a fiery stint from the Vauxhall End.

David Wakely (seven) was superbly caught one-handed by Nel at slip, Andrew Hall (two) sliced a leg-cutter to point, Elton Chigumbura (25) snicked a drive to third slip and David Murphy (eight) was comprehensively castled.

Surrey's excellent fielding continued when Usman Afzaal took another athletic catch on the run at wide mid-off to account for David Lucas (14) off Gareth Batty's bowling. Afzaal then helped himself to a wicket as James Middlebrook's (36) slog sweep was caught at mid-on and completed Surrey's maximum points win with 13 overs of the day remaining.

After a 15-minute delay for rain at the start of the day, Northamptonshire resumed their first innings on 174 for 8 and reached their only batting bonus point in style thanks to a lusty 36 from last-man Jack Brooks.

Lucas (13) fell with the visitors two short of their initial 200-run target when he was late on a quicker ball from Batty to go leg before and make it 198 for 9.

Number 11 Brooks went for his shots from ball one, sweeping Batty for two sixes into the Peter May Stand and then backing away to cut another six over the ropes at backward point off Meaker.

Batty had his revenge however, having Brooks caught at backward square-leg to end the Northamptonshire innings just after mid-day allowing his skipper Rory Hamilton-Brown to enforce the follow-on with more than five sessions of the match remaining.

Batty, the pick of Surrey's attack, finished with 5 for 76 - his first five-wicket return since re-joining the county from Worcestershire - while Nel and Tremlett bagged two apiece.